Nothing can be worse than discovering that the person you had loved, trusted and offered all your loyalty to has backstabbed you. That is what is called betrayal of loyalty. When leaders start thinking they are gods, they begin to care less about loyalty, about commitment, about espirit de corp and they begin to destroy the cornerstones in their leadership journey. There is something wrong with your character if opportunity controls your loyalty.
BRF summed it up succinctly when he said, “May our loyalty not be tested”. Nothing in life is infinitesimal. Even loyalty has a limit. If you test the loyalty of the dog you keep at home, feed and take good care of, it would react. The basic principle of espirit de Corp is that “a kii se omo awo bi a se ma se omo ogberi.”
Yes, Ogbeni served as Commissioner for 8 years. He was able to stay that long because he was useful to the Asiwaju brand that was unfolding and he added tremendous value to that brand in the quality of work he did as Commissioner. Yes, Ogbeni was Governor for 8 years, he was able to become Governor because Asiwaju saw that he had what it would take to wrest the State from PDP and Asiwaju knew he was capable of grooming his cousin Oyetola to become Governor without reneging on the agreement. Ogbeni being Governor for 8 years was not by the grace of Asiwaju but by the political dexterity of Ogbeni which was in sync with the culture and nature of the people of Osun. The contribution of Asiwaju was, ab initio, financial and he spent money not because he loved Ogbeni or wanted to reciprocate or reward loyalty but because he had his eyes on his cousin being Governor some day. QED.
Despite all opposition against Oyetola in the State, Ogbeni stood by Asiwaju and imposed Oyetola as candidate. How else do you prove loyalty? That imposition significantly affected the votes of APC in that election. The odds were clearly against Oyetola and still is. The Osun West agitation was one. His overbearing nature and greed as Chief of Staff was another. He was the de facto Governor as everything must pass through him before the Governor can approve. Oyetola’s relationship with Asiwaju was poison to the minds of Osun people. To worsen it, Asiwaju came to Osun during the campaign to boast that he was richer than the State. The political dexterity of Ogbeni saved APC in that election as Osun people detested the influence of Asiwaju in the State. If Ogbeni was not committed to his loyalty to his leader and demi god, Oyetola would not be Governor. Forget about the so called influence of Omisore. Even Omisore cannot claim he knew what went into that runoff election. It was a mere coincidence that the runoff happened in his constituencies. The actors in that election know that Omisore is taking unmeritted credit for the success.
It is no longer secret that Asiwaju did not nominate Ogbeni to be Minister of the Federal Republic. PMB unilaterally put Ogbeni’s name on the list. Asiwaju cannot claim credit for that. The fact is that it irked him that Ogbeni was nominated Minister and It further created a situation where loyalty was tested and betrayed. Someone groomed your cousin for 8 years. You nominated Omisore that almost scuttled it as Minister. The knives of betrayal cut deep and hurt… but they also trim away the nonsense and reveal your true friends.
Asiwaju must be told in unmistakable terms that he has not handled the Osun matter well at all. He has handled it like an amateur and desperado which has put a big question mark on his capability as a leader and all the achievements ascribed to him. It is one thing to identify and use talents for the common good, it is another thing to identify and use talent to project personal brand and ambition. The latter is what Asiwaju has revealed about himself.
For the benefits of spectators on the stands who don’t know Jack about the genesis of the relationship between Asiwaju and Ogbeni, please moderate your ignorance and don’t dabble into beer palour talk. Ogbeni started as a Students Union activist, Marxist and a great mobiliser. He ran for House of Representatives in Alimosho when Asiwaju was running for Senate in Lagos West. They met at Primrose Caucus under the leadership of Dapo Sarumi and both Asiwaju and Ogbeni were members. Asiwaju can never tell anyone that he picked Ogbeni from gutter. Asiwaju saw the quality in Ogbeni and felt he would add value to his politics and unfolding brand. He therefore appointed Ogbeni as the DG of Asiwaju Campaign during the 1999 election. It is unlikely that any leader worthy of being so called would pick a random gutter man to be DG of a very important campaign.
We can argue that Asiwaju gave Ogbeni an opportunity. It is a simple case of opportunity meeting preparation. Ogbeni had prepared himself adequately for politics and leadership and Asiwaju saw the value in him. Ogbeni reciprocated the trust by executing the opportunity to the best of his ability and to the delight of Asiwaju, and of course his success. Ogbeni contributed tremendously to the political growth of Asiwaju. He supported his leader with all he could afford. Every giant you see high up is standing on the shoulder of several other giants you may not see. That is why leaders who surround themselves with gutter men easily fade away. Asiwaju is still relevant today because he identified talents and he gave them opportunity. It is those talents that were the cornerstone of his political success but unfortunately, for strange reasons, he’s also fond of throwing away his cornerstones. The last man standing from 1999 is probably Ogbeni who has recently been dealt a betrayal blow by Asiwaju.
If we allow you to lead us, it does not make you God. Ogbeni is a very decent human being, a man of strong faith, he’s very intelligent and he’s trustworthy and can stretch loyalty beyond what is humanly tolerable. For the bridge between him and Asiwaju to have broken, he must have been overstretched.
Asiwaju is a brilliant and good politician, but I cannot say the same for Jagaban who wants to be President. At this point Jagaban must make some sacrifices if he’s a genuine leader. You can not be winner alone and all the time. It must be win/win, give and take. That is the mark of a genuine leader.
We know that humans are responsible for the howling of the oro masquerade. When Asiwaju needed to be Asiwaju he chose to be Jagaban. And as Jesus said on the cross: IT IS FINISHED.
Ire ooooo.
Eyiwunmi Adebowale
Ile-Ife, Osun.
